Vote Annika Dries For Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman Of The Year
8/30/2011 12:00:00 AM
East Meadow, N.Y., August 30, 2011– The Women's Sports Foundation’s 32nd Annual Salute to Women in Sports will celebrate the accomplishments of the top female athletes on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. The annual fundraising gala will take place at Cipriani Wall Street and will be hosted by journalist and sportscaster Bonnie Bernstein.
This year’s remarkable group of elite athlete finalists, including USA Water Polo National Team center Annika Dries (Laguna Beach, CA/Stanford/SET), representing 19 sports, is vying for the evening’s top honors – Sportswoman of the Year – in Individual and Team categories.
Each year, the top 10 candidates from various disciplines are chosen for the ballot, based on their record-breaking, historic, and simply amazing athletic performances. The Women's Sports Foundation recognizes these women for incredible achievements in individual and team performances, and the 2011 ballot is nothing short of extraordinary.
Athletes were considered for the 2011 ballot based on their athletic accomplishments between August 1, 2010, and July 31, 2011. Nominations for the Sportswoman of the Year - Individual and Team awards are made by sport governing bodies and the public. Sportswoman of the Year finalists will be voted on by the Foundation Awards Committee and the public beginning on August 25, through midnight E.S.T. on September 5, 2011. For the first time, voting will take place on Facebook. To vote, visit Facebook.com/WomensSportsFoundation and browse the photo albums for Individual Sport Athlete and Team Sport Athlete finalists. To cast your vote, simply “like” the photo of an athlete in each album - Team and Individual. Fans are permitted one vote in each album.
**VOTING INSTRUCTIONS**
1. Visit http://wspr.tc/VoteSOYTeam
2. Become a fan of the Women’s Sports Foundation by liking our page.
3. Browse the photo album for Team Sport Athlete finalists.
4. To cast your vote, simply like the photo of an athlete in the album. Fans are permitted only one vote per album.
Sportswoman of the Year honorees will be announced during the Annual Salute to Women in Sports awards gala, as well as this year’s recipients of the Billie Jean King Contribution Award, Wilma Rudolph Courage Award and ANNIKA Inspiration Award. The Pac 12 Conference will also receive a special tribute during the evening’s festivities. The event is supported and attended annually by star athletes, celebrities from film and television, journalists, corporate and industry leaders, sports organizations and philanthropists.
The 2011 Sportswoman of the Year finalists in the Individual sport and Team sport categories are:
2011 FINALISTS
Individual Sport
Miki Ando, Figure Skating
Kelly Clark, Snowboarding Halfpipe
Missy Franklin, Swimming
Carmelita Jeter, Track & Field
Aliya Mustafina, Gymnastics
Christine Nesbitt, Speed Skating
Yani Tseng, Golf
Lindsey Vonn, Alpine Skiing
Mallory Weggemann, Paralympic Swimming
Caroline Wozniacki, Tennis
Team Sport
Luciana Aymar, Field Hockey
Annika Dries, Water Polo
Meghan Duggan, Ice Hockey
Juliana Felisberta and Larissa França, Beach Volleyball
Sandra Kiriasis, Bobsled
Maya Moore, Basketball
Anette Norberg, Curling
Shannon Smith, Lacrosse
Stacy Sykora, Volleyball
Abby Wambach, Soccer
Past Sportswoman of the Year recipients include…
Individual: Nastia Liukin, Gymnastics; Lorena Ochoa, Golf; Erin Popovich, Paralympic Swimming; Michelle Kwan, Figure Skating; and Gail Devers, Track & Field
Team: Jessica Mendoza, Softball; Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh, Beach Volleyball; Lisa Leslie, Basketball; Serena and Venus Williams, Tennis; and Mia Hamm, Soccer
For more information or to purchase a table or tickets for this star-studded event, please contact Kerry Milhaven or visit www.WomensSportsFoundation.org/AnnualSalute.
About the Women’s Sports Foundation
The Women’s Sports Foundation, founded in 1974, is the leader in promoting sports, health and education for girls and women. With Billie Jean King as its founder and ongoing visionary, The Women’s Sports Foundation continues to have a profound impact on female athletics, from its vigorous advocacy of Title IX legislation to providing grants and scholarships, grassroots programs for underserved girls, and groundbreaking research. An agent for change, the Women’s Sports Foundation has relationships with more than 1,000 of the world’s elite female athletes and is recognized globally for its leadership, vision, strength, expertise and influence. For more information, please call the Women’s Sports Foundation 800.227.3988 or visit www.WomensSportsFoundation.org.
Women's National Team